Posted on 2024-03-22

A taste of Mexico City

In February 2024, we took a weekend trip to Mexico City. We wanted to experience the city's lively atmosphere and see if it would draw us back again. Here's a look at our trip through the heart of one of the largest cities in the world.

The city

We got our first impressions while driving from the airport to our hotel in the city center. The first neighborhoods we passed through were on the east side of the city. They featured chaotic architecture with many buildings in poor condition, but the streets were clean and full of people.

As we neared the city center, the environment started to shift. Approaching Zócalo, the city's main square, the architecture became more structured. Makeshift stalls and markets give way to larger and more elegant storefronts. Here, the crowd looks more middle-class, reminiscent of Madrid or Barcelona, challenging the stereotype of what a 'third world' city looks like.

Further west, in the business heart of the city around La Reforma, large avenues are lined with modern skyscrapers and high-end malls that feature luxury brands. Mexico City is clearly a place of deep contrasts.

The Palacio de Bellas Artes occupies a central position in the city, with all roads seemingly leading to it.
The streets in the city center may seem very busy for someone coming from LA. However, they are probably no busier than those in London or New York.
The weather clears up over the old town. On the right - the back wall of the main cathedral, and on the left - the ruins of the main Aztec temple.
The tall, slim building in the distance is called 'Torre Latinoamericana' and is a very characteristic landmark of the city.
Many buildings in the city center feature a momumental classical architecture, just like Madrid or Paris.
Some of the oldest buildings in the city center are located right next to the cathedral.
A bit further from the center, the houses get smaller. This photo is from the San Rafael neighborhood. I particularly like the large modernist windows with thin frames.
A row of small houses in a residental area of San Rafael.
The main Cathedral and the Zócalo square at night. The long, brightly lit building in the back is the Palacio Nacional.
The Spanish used the entire playbook when building the cathedral. It combines Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical architectural styles.
The interior of the cathedral matches the style of some of the great churches in Italy and Spain.
Zócalo is the main square in the center surrounded by elegant buildings, palaces and luxury hotels.
A few minutes walk from Zócalo is the business heart of the city.
Chinatown - Barrio Chino - is a lively street lined up with chinese shops and restaurants.
It feels very similar to the always buys Gerrard St in London, but somehow it was even more packed!
Right next to the Cathedral are the ruins of the main Aztec temple, the Templo Mayor.
Agave plants thrive among the ruins of Templo Mayor.
The intricate tiles on the wall of Casa de los Azulejos - a baroque palace turned department store and retaurant.
There were a few street organ players around the old town. For some reason they all wore matching uniforms.
The Museo Soumaya houses an impressive art collection belonging to Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico. It's just a quick 15-minute subway ride from the Zócalo.
Continuing Mexico's rich tradition of political muralism, this piece references contemporary events echoing the voices of Rivera and Siqueiros.
The lively Mercado La Ciudadela is a great place to buy some traditional craft items and folk art.
Porcalain tequila bottles with the omnipresent motif of the skull.
A collection of figures captures the spirit of Día de los Muertos.
Another skull, decorated with floral patterns.
In a coffee & Mezcal bar at the market, we bumped into a Instagram influencer in full gear.
On the way back to the hotel, we walked by a political rally on Zócalo. It was a very colorful and peaceful protest agianst the policies of president Lobez Obrador.

Ths history

When planning trips, I usually take one of two approaches. Sometimes I thoroughly research the destination to build anticipation for what I'll see. Other times, I prefer to arrive unprepared, allowing the place itself to offer surprises and inspiration. My visit to Mexico City beautifully combined both strategies!

Diego Rivera

In preparation for the trip, I immersed myself in the world of Diego Rivera, the renowned Mexican muralist known for his vivid artwork, flamboyant personality, and his marriage to Frida Kahlo. I read his biography, rewatched the movie "Frida" (featuring Alfred Molina as Rivera), and studied his paintings.

This background enriched my experience significantly when we visited the Diego Rivera Museum and saw his murals at the Palacio De Bellas Artes. This prior knowledge not only heightened my appreciation for Rivera's art but also deepened my understanding of other muralists like Siqueiros and Orozco, and even the street graffiti around the city.

Templo Mayor

Before arriving in Mexico, I know very little about the Spanish conquest. I heard of Hernán Cortés and Montezuma but lacked detailed historical context. I even confused Teotihuacan, a site with large pyramids located outside the city, with Tenochtitlan, the former Aztec capital upon which modern Mexico City is built.

During our visit, we went to see ruins of the Aztec temple - the Templo Mayor - that are right next to the hotel we stayed in. Typically, ruins are not the most cativating places, but being the good tourist I am, I walked around the place, listened to our guide and carefully read the labels on the exhibits.

That could be the end of the story, but two weeks after we got back from Mexico City, I noticed that my favourite podcast did a series of episodes on of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. As I listened, the story of Templo Mayor — which previously has seemed just a collection of stones and relics — came to life. I realized that this is one of the wildest, tragic and most surreal events in the entire human history!

"Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Alameda" - a massive mural of Diego Rivera on display in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, which coincidetally is right next to the actual Alameda park.
The interior of the Palacio De Bellas Artes has a Soviet-era architecture vibe. The lobby host murals painted by some of Mexicos greatest artists.
"Catharsis" by Jose Clemente Orozco
"The Torment of Cuauhtémoc" by David Alfaro Siqueiros. Cuauhtémoc was the last Aztec emperror who reigned only for one year before he was executed by Cortés.
"Man Controller of the Universe" by Diego Rivera
The original version of his mural was painted in the Rockefeller Center in New York City. The story goes that Nelson Rockefeller had it removed because he did not enjoy the figure of Lenin depicted on the piece.
I do not know if Nelson Rockefeller also complained about the depictions of Trosky, Marx and Engels but I reckon he wasn't a fan!
"Liberation" by Jorge González Camarena. Stylistically, this one was my favourite.
"Nueva democracia" by David Alfaro Siqueiros
A vessel representing Tlatloc, the god of rain. On display in the Templo Mayor museum
Decorative Tlatloc brazier, Templo Mayor museum
Tzompantli - a skull rack used for the public display of human skulls of sacrificial victims, Templo Mayor museum
A decorative snail shell, Templo Mayor museum
The entrance to the Soumaya museum features a very clean, modern design featuring reproductions of several well known masterpieces.
The collection of Carlos Slim om display in Soumaya is massive and from all over the world.
A spiral staircase in the Soumaya Museum goes up 6 floors, each almost overfilled with art.
The top floor presents a collection of sculptures, mostyl from Rodin. There are so many of them that I felt a bit like in a warehouse.
Slim made his fortune in telecom, so one of the rooms present a collection of vintage phones.

The Art Scene

On our final day, we shifted our focus from historical landmarks to the active contemporary art scene of Mexico City. Looking not only into the past, but also exploring the present is a great way to enrich any travel epxerience and I try to add an element like that to all my trips.

Accompanied by a knowledgeable guide, we ventured into the San Rafael neighborhood to explore its art community.

Galería Hilario Galguera

Our first stop was Galería Hilario Galguera. Victor Mendoza, the gallery's director, enthusiastically showed us through the exhibition spaces which at that time was presenting to strongly erotic work on Daniel Lezama.

Victor was also very excited about an upcoming exhibition featuring British artist Damien Hirst. I was not familiar with Hisrt's art initially, but since that visit, I've delved deeper into that topic. As I learned about his art and career and my appreciation for Victor's excitement has significantly increased.

Studio Visit: Chavis Marmol

Next, we visited the studio of Chavis Marmol, a sculptor and performance artist. Chavis, with his timid and humble attitude, spoke about his art in a relaxed and straightforward manner, and we enjoyed his company.

His latest performance, which took place sometime after our meeting, involved using a 3-ton Olmec statue to smash a Tesla. Brilliant!

A piece by Damien Hirst, Galería Hilario Galguera.
Vases with floral motifs by Elvira Smeke, Galería Hilario Galguera.
The very NSFW artwork of Daniel Lezama, Galería Hilario Galguera.
Walking by a wall scuplture by Danuel Buren, Galería Hilario Galguera.
Lobby in Galería Hilario Galguera.
Gallery Caleta.
Patio, Caleta.
Artists room, Caleta
With artist Mickey Lee, Caleta
Patio in the workshop of artist Chavis Marmol.
A sculpture by Chavis Marmol.
More works by Chavis Marmol.
Books and skulls in Chavis' studio.

The food and the drinks

I went to Mexico expecting excellent food, given how spoiled I am by all the Mexican cuisine available in LA. I'm happy to report that Mexico City delivered!

On the first evening, we went bar hopping around La Condesa. With narrow streets lined up with trees, beautiful houses and villas, bars and restaurants on every corner, La Condesa is the place to be on a Friday night!

We began our adventure at Caiman, where our guide introduced us to a tasting of natural wines. All the wines were from Mexico, predominantly sourced from Valle de Guadalupe, a region just south of Tijuana near the US border.

After the wine tasting, we headed to another bar, NIV, where we switched gears to mezcal, tequila, and a spirit I'd never encountered before called "pulque." The spirits were paired with delicious tapas and fantastic lamb chops. I'm not a Mezcal drinker, so things got a bit hazy towards at the end. That evening was a lot of fun!

For the next two days, we indulged in a variety of local foods. We tried tlacoyos, thick tortilla buns, and sopes, sandwiches filled with fried cheese and meat. However, the most popular dish in the city's bars is the taco al pastor. Al pastor features meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, similar to the Turkish "döner kebab". This method was brought to Mexico by Middle Eastern immigrants. Unlike the döner, al pastor uses pork instead of lamb and is seasoned with a distinctive blend of local spices, giving it a unique marinated flavor.

On the high-end side of cuisine, Caracol Del Mar offered a fantastic fusion of Mexican and Peruvian-inspired dishes, including delicious ceviche and tamales. We also enjoyed an extravagant dining experience at the chic Balcon De Zocalo. Lastly, the breakfasts at our hotel had a truly Mexican vibe and were consistently amazing!

Whether it was dinner or breakfast, street food or fine dining, most dishes had one thing in common: tortillas. In one way or another, tortillas make their way into every Mexcian meal, always enhancing the flavors with great results!

Appetizer: crusty tortillas with delicious salsas in Caracol Del Mar.
Ceviche with leche de tigre ("tiger's milk"), Caracol Del Mar.
Mezcal margueritta, Caracol Del Mar.
Breakfast at the hotel - a bowl filled with eggs and tortillas and some veggie tacos.
Another breakfast - mushroom tacos.
Mexico City or Istanbul? You won't know until you taste it!
Tacos Al Pastor - you can't go wrong with that.
Preparing the meats at a street food stall.
Desserts that were part of the "food experience" in Balcon De Zocalo.
...more deserts.
...and some more dessert. Fortunately the portions very small, so I was able to enjoy all of them.
Part of the experience was a trip to the kitchen where we were served some ice cream topped with caviar.
Natural wine tasting from Baja California. The wine region there is close to the border with California and is called "Valle de Guadalupe". This was a Rose.
Another natural wine - red this time. Caiman, La Condesa neighborhood.
Mezcal and pulque degustation at NIV in La Condesa. Pulque is a drink made of fermeted agave, which, unlike Mezcal is not distilled.
We had lots of fun that night!

Thanks

Before concluding this story, I want to extend a warm thank you to all the fantastic guides who helped make this trip a success. Special thanks to Michaela Trimble, Megan Frye and Allegra Hangen for your time and for sharing your insights and experiences. Additionally, a big thank you for the team at The Essentialist for their excellent planning and organization of our excursion.

A brief weekend in the bustling capital city of 20 million people barely scratches the surface, providing just a glimpse and a few impressions. Yet, that was enough for Mexico City to evolve from a mere spot on the map to a destination I'm want to explore further!